To Be Despairing: Lights of Hope
by Thundertail913
Summary: Well, this was unusual. Here I was, interacting with 15 strangers in what appears to be a... camp? I hate camp. What the heck was going on? Thankfully, everyone else seemed to be feeling the same way. Somewhat. - A whole new cast in a whole new setting. Follows the canon of the Danganronpa world. Enjoy the ride. - There will be pictures. How fun!
1. Chapter 1: To Be Unlucky

**To Be Despairing: Lights of Hope**

 _I do not own Danganronpa. I only own the words written and the characters.  
_ _Credits to Ezleurno for inspiration._

* * *

 _\- Chapter One: To Be Unlucky -_

 _ **?'s Point of View**_

Everything was dark... The air felt cold. I rolled my head and groaned, and I felt a hard, rough floor on my back. Twitching my fingers, I felt wood, and I presumed that was what I was lying on. I tried blinking my eyes. Both those and the rest of my body were incredibly sore, as if I had been asleep for only two hours after a long day- on a hard, wooden floor, nonetheless.

I managed to orient myself to the waking world. I thought. I knew my eyes were open, but there were no lights on in the place I was in, wherever I was. The first thing I assumed had happened was that I woke up on the floor of my bedroom in the middle of the night, and I must have fallen off my bed for some reason. The only problem was that my bedroom had carpeted flooring, not wood. After I pushed myself up into a sitting position, I rubbed my eyes and stretched my stiff limbs. I shivered, reaching around my surroundings for a bed to grab a blanket. The first thing my hand came in contact with was _more_ wood. It was vertical, like a wall, situated on my right. I felt along this wall, noticing it's slanted planks stacked on top of each other like you would find in a camp cabin.

A camp cabin? I _hated_ camp. At least, I felt like I did. I couldn't remember why.

I leaned against the wall and pushed myself up to stand, still feeling groggy. After stabilizing myself, I reached my left hand out, still searching for a bed. I was able to find another wooden object that had a flat surface on top, which stabbed into my stomach. Surprised momentarily from suddenly walking into this object, I jumped backwards, hitting my toe against a thin wooden structure directly underneath the object.

"Ow! Dangit!" I said in a hushed voice, thinking that someone might be asleep in the room. Trying to tough out the dull pain in my left foot, I leaned the right side of my body on the edge of the object that had just been my passive and not-very-mobile assailant as my support, which I knew was a table. Clutching my sock-covered foot, I noticed a dim light coming from a slit near the floor, which I had just noticed after my eyes fully adjusted to the darkness. After the throbbing had resided, I made my way cautiously towards the light, knowing full well that this could be the door leading outside the room. And it _was_ a door. Good. I felt around the door frame, hoping to find a light switch. I couldn't find one anywhere.

 _"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

The scream came out of nowhere, and it was clearly distressed. It was definitely a girl's voice, and it was coming from behind the door! Thinking a lady might be in trouble, I scrambled for the door knob. Anywhere! Anywhere! My hands moved frantically along the door. I cursed silently about the lack of light but managed to locate the doorknob. I turned it, flung the door open violently, and charged out the door.

"HWAAG!" I exclaimed.

Forgetting that I was in an unfamiliar place for a moment, I found myself suddenly losing the floor under my feet, watching it fly up to my face. I never liked the taste of dirt. Or stairs. Especially when stairs stabbed me in the stomach, knees, and shins. And just my luck: I was able to meet both of those things I disliked at the same time!

"Ooorgh..." I groaned, my mouth full of damp soil. I quickly spit it out and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. I stood up, trying to endure the pain in my shins and knees. I quickly brushed off some of the dirt on my arms and clothes and looked around for the source of the scream, not finding anything but two rows of cabins with dim lamps near each of the doors. Calmed by this humbling experience, I listened for anymore voices. Then, I heard some loud and erratic pounding, followed by a desperate male voice, overlapped by female crying, all from the cabin directly across from the one I... _*ahem*_ well, tumbled from. It was as if the guy was freaked out and trying to silence the girl.

Assuming the worst, I sprinted up the cabin steps and pulled open the door, revealing a teary-eyed girl sitting in a messy heap, right at the entrance, and a short Hispanic dude standing behind her with shock, panic, and nervousness all affecting his erratic and awkward body movements in attempt to calm the maiden down. I stood there, dumbfounded by the way the scene was unfolding.

"Miss, I- Can you- Miss, I didn't- Please, sshh! I'm sorry I- No, no, no, stop crying! I didn't know you were- I mean, well, I _did_ , but I- Miss, please-"

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah..." Suddenly, the girl flung her arms out and wrapped them around my legs. She continued to weep and soak my pants and socks. Deciding to end the duo's misery, I spoke up.

"So... what happened over here?" As if not noticing my presence until now, the guy recoiled and tried to explain with the same panicky speech.

"I- well, _we_ were just- no, _I_ was trying- _no_ , I was looki- _touching_ \- no, no, no, feeling- uuum, uuum- We were- I was just, y'know- I was-" I reached out and grabbed the boy's face with my hand, squeezing it to shut him up.

"Okay, okay. Just calm down. Just listening to you is making my head hurt. I just woke up a couple minutes ago, and I don't exactly want to deal with a kid that speaks like a rabid chicken."

"Sh-Showwy..."

"Weeeeeeeeeh..." I looked down at the girl.

"How about you? You alright?" She sniffed and wiped her face, finally releasing her grip.

"Y-yes," she replied meekly. "I was just freaked out..."

"Oh, really?" I said. She nodded.

"I-It was so dark in there, and- _*sniff*_ I was trying to find some light. I saw some light coming from the floor and went to it to see what it was, but then- _*sniff*_ I felt this creepy, warm hand on my back, as if I was being abducted!"

"I-I wasn't trying to abduct you! L-Like you said, it was dark, and I heard you talking to yourself a-and walking towards the door. I didn't know what to say, so I wanted to... well, Iet you know I w-was there! S-somehow..." the boy retorted. I rolled my eyes.

"So you decided that creeping up behind someone in the dark and touching them without warning them was the best way to let them know that you were there, not to very quietly and calmly call out and grab their attention without scaring them."

"I'm not exactly the best at... talking to other people..."

"I see that."

"A-anyway," the girl spoke up, "it was all just an accident. Hahaha... I've never been good with spooky stuff." I helped her to her feet.

That's when I got a full view of the girl that had soaked my pants. She was surprisingly tall and slim, easily towering over the boy. Her wavy hair was a dirty blond, reaching all the way down to her waist. Her hair looked as though she had just gotten out of bed, and her clothing matched. She was wearing a pastel green onesie, spotted with several pink rabbits. She was like a child, only taller. Very tall.

"It's not a problem. It is normal for humans to fear." She smiled at me.

"Glad you understand. Um, I'm Shannon. For what it's worth, I'm glad it was you that I ran into," she said, holding her hand out to me. I shook it gladly.

"Taz Dundas. Pleasure meeting you, too. Also, I'm sure no one would try abducting you... I think."

"U-uh, I'm not so sure about that," the boy suddenly spoke up. I had somehow forgotten he was there. Shannon looked back at him, shocked.

"What do you mean?" she asked him.

"I-I d-don't kn-now how to p-put it... uh, correctly... I just... I kn- I feel like we- well, I think- I- Don't you wonder why- how we got here? I-I don't know where we are." Shannon and I looked at each other, realization hitting me once more. I rubbed the back of my head.

"Hmmm... I agree. I think this may be a campsite. I hate camp. There's no good reason why I would be here in the first place."

"Camp? I've never been to a camp," Shannon replied. She turned towards the boy. "So, you think we were... a-abducted?"

"I-I, u-u-uh..." he stuttered, "Maybe? I-I mean, I don't remember at all how I got here, and I don't know either of you, either. Waking up in th-that dark cabin, ending up in a campsite, nothing looking familiar, no interest or reason to be here- It's all as if we were put here against our wills, doesn't it?" I was mildly surprised at his reasoning.

"Not to mention that... well, none of us remember anything. At least, I don't. Sounds like _you_... uh, what's your name?" I asked the boy. He flinched.

"O-oh, I'm Grei."

"Grei?" He nodded nervously. "It sounds like you, Grei and Shannon, don't remember anything either."

"Y-you're right. How could you tell?" Grei asked.

"... Neither of you sound certain about what happened."

"H-ha ha! Right..." Grei rubbed his head, agitated by something. "I-I should've realized that. U-uh, this is kind of embarrassing, but I'm f-feeling a little nauseous..." Shannon wrapped an arm around him. I patted his left shoulder.

"Why don't you sit down on the steps for a moment? You two stay here, and I'll go see if there's anyone else. Don't go anywhere. I want to make sure we stay together," I said, walking down the stairs towards the neighboring cabin.

"Alright. U-uh, Grei, come sit on the steps." She guided him to the stairs to sit down.

Looking past the two rows of cabins, which I think were four or five on each side, I spotted the usual pines and oaks that populated a generic camp. When I looked in the opposite direction, what I saw past the cabins was a cloudy sky. The ground seemed to disappear. Of course, I wasn't quite certain what I saw, especially since it was nighttime. Reaching the neighboring cabin, I walked up the steps and approached the door. Now that the situation wasn't as chaotic, I was able to notice a small black box attached to the center of the door. I looked around at the other cabin doors and saw the same thing. I ran my fingers over it, curious on what it was. It felt like plastic with a tiny smooth circle near the bottom of the box. I tried pulling it, but it didn't move. Losing interest, I turned the knob and pulled.

Once again, it was dark inside. With the limited light I had, I tried to find a person occupying the building. The first place I looked was the area where I had woken up. To the right of the entrance was a table, and it reminded me to be careful where I was walking, since I wasn't wearing shoes and all. Looking to the wall, I _did_ find someone's limp body lying flat on his back. A thin v-neck shirt covered his moderately well-built body, and his face and hair were well-groomed. He certainly looked like a woman's eye-candy. Heck, if I were into men, he'd be able to swoon me on looks alone. As handsome as he was, I needed to check to see if he was actually alive. I placed my palm on his chest, relieved as I felt the slow rising and falling of a human's breathing. Doing what any normal person in a situation like this would do, I shook his arm. He didn't stir, so I tried speaking to him.

"Hey, dude, wake up." I shook him again, to no avail. I lightly pounded at his chest. "C'mon, man. Don't stay asleep." I rolled my eyes when he only replied with a short snore. Deciding that the usual methods of quietly waking a person up wasn't working, I decided to do something that I was pretty certain would wake up a man. I poked his crotch. I didn't do it very lightly, either.

"HRUH!" he gasped, body twitching. His eyes flew open wide then slowly closed again. He groaned and rubbed his face. "Dude, what the h*** is wrong with you?" he mumbled, drowsiness evident in his voice.

"Sorry, you wouldn't wake up. I know it's surprising that a guy you don't know just woke you up from sleeping on the floor, but there's an urgent matter you need to see."

"Who the h*** are you?" I scrunched my eyebrows at his coarse language. I sighed before replying.

"I'm Taz. We don't have time to converse right now, so you need to get up."

"Where are we?"

"That's just it. I don't know, and neither do the others."

"Well, you're f****** useless." He rolled onto his right side, immediately regretting it. "S***! Am I on the floor?!" I rolled my eyes.

"Yes. Now get up. You won't be able to fall asleep again."

"Shut up, you b******. Give me time to actually wake up."

 _Wake-up grumps, I'm guessing._ Deciding that it would be best to leave him alone for now, I looked around some more for a second person. On the opposite side of the room, I saw another person; a girl this time. I think. She looked a bit like a boy with her short, messy hair and somewhat narrower-than-average hips and thighs. However, she still had a petite frame. She was actually already rolled on her side, making me guess that she had already regained some of her consciousness. Next to her head was a dark gray beanie hat, which I assumed had fallen off. However, with her face turned to the wall, I couldn't actually tell what she looked like or if she was asleep. I nudged her lightly.

"Hey. Sorry to wake you, but you need to get up." Unlike the unfriendly man, the girl stirred much faster. She turned her head towards me and yawned. She stretched out and sat up. "Hm. I'm glad the first thing you did wasn't swearing after I woke you up." She didn't say anything but simply raised an eyebrow. I placed a hand on her shoulder and chuckled. "Come, let's get going. There's something incredibly wrong going on, and I'm trying to find as many people as I can." She glanced at where I was touching her, still with a straight face.

"... Who are you?" she asked me quietly.

 _Straight to the point, huh?_ "I'm Taz. I assure you that I won't bite. I'm a stranger, but everyone here's a stranger. You're not the only one." She continued to look confused. She surveyed the dark room without saying anything. I stood up, and she followed without hesitation, not forgetting to put her beanie back on. Now she was standing up, I quickly glanced at her appearance. She was wearing a zipped-up, thin, forest green hoodie over a dark-gray turtle-neck sweater while wearing jeans as bottoms. She could probably be described as "flat-chested," which complemented the rest of her small body. In terms of height, she was pretty tiny. I think she barely, if not actually, reached my shoulder. I walked back to the man at the other side of the cabin. Apparently he had tried falling back asleep. I kicked him with my foot lightly.

"Hey, get up already." He lashed his arm out and tripped me. I managed to save myself with my left arm, but now I had a bruise on my elbow, along with a sore shoulder. "What the heck was that for?"

"Leave me alone." He rolled back. I sighed. I felt a small arm wrap itself underneath my right arm. I looked back and saw the Asian girl waiting for me to get up. I accepted it.

"Fine. I'll come back for you later. Don't go anywhere, though."

"Don't tell me what to do. I just want you to leave me alone." I rolled my eyes and groaned.

"Come on, let's go. The other two are waiting," I told the girl. She nodded.

"Wait!" The man suddenly exclaimed. "Where the f*** did _you_ come from?! F****** Taz never told me he had a _friend_ with him. Don't you two _dare_ talk s*** about me. I already don't trust this b******."

"... What did you say? I don't speak your language," she replied in perfect English. I had stopped myself from laughing at her reply, putting a hand up to my mouth.

"Quit laughing," he grumbled at me.

"A-anyway, Let's go." I motioned for her to follow me out the door. Once we reached the top of the steps, I decided to speak up again. "So, what's your name?"

"Me?" she asked without looking at me.

"Yeah. As I said, I'm Taz. Taz Dundas. What about you?"

"Oh... Um... I won't say."

"Huh? Why not?" She appeared uncomfortable with this question for whatever reason and seemed to dig her hands deeper into her hoodie pockets.

"I can't. That's all."

"Can't?"

"Yes, I can't tell you my name." I turned back towards the other cabin, where Grei and Shannon were still sitting.

 _Maybe it's a sensitive topic. It might be an Asian thing, too. I mean, her American accent is perfect, so I don't really know._ Not really thinking about my implications with those thoughts, I met up with the other two. I looked to the girl and introduced them to her. "This is Shannon and Grei."

"Hello," Shannon said. She nodded to her once.

"For now, this is where we're meeting until I find everyone. You can stay here or help me check all the cabins." She nodded at my suggestion and headed off to the cabin on the other side.

With her checking the last two cabins in this row, I decided to head back to the cabin I had woken up from. If two people were in each cabin, then someone must have been in my room. From the two cabins I had seen so far, there was a boy and a girl in each, so there's probably a girl inside. I approached the cabin door and opened the door quickly.

Expecting the person the be fast asleep, I was not prepared to get a third bruise on my forehead or a broken nose, nor was I braced to be slammed by any large projectiles as soon as I entered. It was a cabin.

Alas, I was still unlucky. Again.

And so, I was smashed face-first by a not-so-soft body. I think it was a skull.

"Ow! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to nearly knock you out like that! Who are you? I'm Marcel!"

Introducing: the girl that was in my cabin.

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 _CURRENT PROFILES:_

Males:

 **Taz Dundas (?)** , Ultimate ? - _Status: Alive  
_ **Grei ? (?)** , Ultimate ? - _Status: Alive  
_ **Unknown (?)** , Ultimate ? - _Status: Alive_

Females:

 **Marcel ? (?)** , Ultimate ? - _Status: Alive  
_ **Shannon ? (?)** , Ultimate ? - _Status: Alive  
_ **Unknown (?)** , Ultimate ? - _Status: Alive_

* * *

 **CHA** **PTER 1 PICTURES**

 _Please check the links labeled with the names below under the To Be Despairing: Lights of Hope section at the **bottom of my profile** to view pictures of this chapter. Available pictures are labeled "AVAILABLE!"_

Chapter 1 Map (Current known locations) _AVAILABLE!_  
Chapter Scene - The Weeping Woman (Shannon meets Taz)  
Character 1 Pre-Game (Taz)  
Character 2 Pre-Game (Shannon) _AVAILABLE!_  
Character 3 Pre-Game (Grei) _AVAILABLE!_  
Character 4 Nameless, Pre-Game (Unknown Female) _AVAILABLE!_  
Character 5 Nameless, Pre-Game (Unknown Male)  
Character 6 Pre-Game (Marcel)  
Character Statuses (All currently known character statuses)

(A/N: I can't insert links into the stories themselves, so this will have to be how pictures work, as tedious as it is.)

* * *

 _Chapter Uploaded 2/11/17  
Picture Update 3/4/17  
_ _Picture Update 3/18/17  
_ _Picture Update 3/20/17_ _  
_


	2. Chapter 2: To Be Moody

**To Be Despairing: Lights of Hope**

 _I do not own Danganronpa. I only own the words written and the characters.  
_ _Credits to Ezleurno for inspiration._

Thank you for the new favorite and 2 new follows! Feel free to comment.

* * *

 _\- Chapter Two: To Be Moody -_

 _ **Taz Dundas's Point of View**_

"Ow! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to nearly knock you out like that! Who are you? I'm Marcel!"

Introducing: the girl that was in my cabin.

To be honest, I didn't even hear what she was shouting at me. I was just trying to suppress the growing pain coming from the front of my face, as well as a headache. If she was telling me something important, I didn't really care.

"T-Taz, are you okay?!" rung the sweet voice I heard from the lovely Shannon behind me. Now, that was a person I cared to listen to.

"Not in the slightest," I responded with a nasally tone. You know why, with my broken nose and all. I felt her hands push me up from my lying position, quite thankful that _someone_ cared that I had fallen, bloody, battered, and bruised.

"Wow, he sure is breakable," the annoying one commented.

"No thanks to you." How the heck was this girl so loud when she had just woken up? This amount of energy was enough to run two department buildings alone.

"How could you say that?" Shannon asked the torpedo. _Yes, thank you, Shannon!_ "What about your head? It sounded and looked like a hard hit! Are you sure you're okay?"

 _... Nevermind. Of course this girl's concerned about the person who collided with me. Such innocence was fleeting._

"No worries. I'm used to ramming into stuff," the loud bazooka replied with a wave of dismissal.

 _You're used to it, huh? For some good reason, I'm not surprised._ I felt Shannon trying to lift me up, so I followed her movements, accepting her help.

"Marcel, help me move Taz to the steps. He must be hurting." _No duh, I am. I just got smashed in the face! But that aside, no way do I want help from this assault weapon._ As soon as so called "Marcel" tried wrapping her arms around mine, I swatted her away, trying to get the point across that she's a nuisance, no matter how soon I just met her. Gratefully, she didn't reply or try to help me a second time. The girl learned quickly. "So... I guess I'll finish looking for other people for you while you recover." With that, I shot up onto my feet as quickly as I had been knocked down.

"No way! I'll look for them! Don't sweat it!" I yelled at her. If I had to spend another second with Miss Hammerhead, I might just die.

"But, I mean, you're hurt, so I thought you would want to-"

"Don't worry about me!" I told the tall girl. "You stay here with this one we just met and help _her_ recover, 'kay?" I headed onward to the next cabin, across from where the rude guy was vegetating. "Nothing like good ol' sisterly love, am I right?" I finished. The two looked at each other dumbfoundedly while I continued walking.

"But she said she was okay!" Shannon replied. I decided to ignore her comment.

As I approached the door of the next cabin, I looked back at the other row of cabins to see if any new faces had appeared. Actually, the door of the cabin at the end of the row was open. A tussle of long, wavy blond hair was hanging out, connected to a curious, princess-like face.

"Hello? Is anyone out here?" She spotted me and squinted. "A-Are you a person?" I nodded, but she might have not seen. "I better not be talking to a cardboard cutout, or something..." she added.

"You don't have to worry. I assure you, ma'am, that I'm a human being."

"Oh, that's good! Sorry, I think I'm near-sighted. I don't know where my glasses are, though." She stepped out the door. "I'm going to guess that you're a stranger, but I don't think you're going to attack me or anything."

 _Hm? What made you think that? We just met._ "You're as much of a stranger to me as I am to you. Glad to know you trust me."

"Certainly. Um, I don't- ahah... I don't actually know where I am right now, but if you know anything, do you think you could tell me?" I smiled. Her voice was so sweet, sweeter than Shannon's, even. Despite the unfamiliar setting, she sounded optimistic.

"I don't know either."

"Oh, you don't?"

"I'm currently trying to find as many people as I can. None of us know each other. Hopefully we find everyone and try to figure out what's going on."

"Other people? Well, there's someone else in here with me... It's making me uncomfortable, really." She opened the door wider, allowing me full view of how she looked.

In short, she was beautiful. Even the silly nightgown she wore- a thin, white, flowy dress that looked as if she was going to bed right after a wedding ceremony- accentuated her fair frame. She had the right amount of meat on her bones while also being graceful in her footsteps. I couldn't decide how tall she was from this distance, but I knew for a fact that she was shorter than me. In my eyes, she seemed like the ideal girl for any young man, like a princess out of a storybook with just the right amount of youthfulness. Heck, I bet she'd look even cuter with glasses on.

However, there was a... well, _mass_ clinging onto her leg. Completely opposite of how she looked, there was a boy clothed in black sweats on the floor, grabbing onto her. His dark brown hair was long enough to flow past the ears, though it was as messy as a bush. He must have been Indian or something, with that skin color. I wouldn't know. There wasn't much else I could see of him from this angle. The girl squatted down, sweeping the sides of her nightgown back, and placed a hand on the boy gently.

"Why don't you get up, now? I can't move very well when you're holding onto my leg like that," she told him calmly like a mother would to her newborn child.

"No. I'm not leaving the room," he responded like a brat would to his stressed mother.

"Come on, Axel. There are other people here. Maybe we can talk to them and figure out where we are."

"I don't want to talk to other people. I don't care," he continued to whine. I sighed and jogged over to them quickly.

"You know, no one cares if you don't care," I said. "Now get up and stop being lazy." He glared at me.

"Well, I don't care that they don't care. I'm not leaving," he replied, lowering my respect of this slightly pudgy boy.

"You're acting like a spoiled child. How old are you? Eight, or something?"

"Enough with the immature bickering, you two," the girl said. She looked at me. "You're not acting any less spoiled than he is."

I looked at her in shock. _Had she just told me off?_ I felt anger boiling in the back of my head, but _her sweet, finely-structured face_ prevented me from even _thinking_ about talking back. Such is my weakness to beautiful girls. The girl sighed.

"Axel, if you don't want to leave the cabin, at least let _me_ leave." The boy, who had been addressed as "Axel" a second time, pouted.

"Then I won't have anyone to talk to!" The girl sighed a second time, though this time it was louder. I grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him, trying to detach the panda from the princess girl. She, in turn, pulled back.

"Then what were you going on about 'not wanting to talk to other people?' Make up your mind!" I shouted at him.

"NO! I ONLY WANT TO TALK TO ANABEL!"

"ANABEL DOESN'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU!" The girl was now standing, gripping onto the door frame.

"I want to talk to everyone together, though..." she said to herself desperately.

"GO WITH US, AND MAYBE YOU'LL FIND SOMEONE TO TALK TO!" _I can't stand this kid!_

"NO! LET ME GO!"

"Boys!…"

At this point, I gave up trying to pry the parasite off of Anabel. I let him go and stormed off, leaving the girl to deal with Axel alone. So far, I've met four okay people, and the other three were ultimate _freaks._ With my frustration finally boiling over, I couldn't care less about the other people sleeping in the cabins. Unfortunately, there was just never any breathing room between frustrations, which I pondered upon as I watched the next frustration approach me.

"So, I know you don't really like me from that whole 'I smashed you in the face, my name is Marcel' thing, but I hope I can make it up to you with an apology. I really am sorry." The girl that broke my nose walked up to me confidently, never losing a smile. "But your reaction was kind of funny too!" she giggled.

"Not now. If you really want to make up with me, go grab everyone else who is still acting like sloths in the cabins." I walked past her and headed toward the cabin Grei was sitting at.

"Okiedokes! If that'll get me on good terms with you, then I'll go do that in a _flash!_ " And with that, she bounded off to the opposite cabin, which I haven't gone to yet.

Hey, at least she's trying. She still aggravated me, though.

* * *

 _ **Shannon's Point of View**_

I knew this whole time that Taz was on edge. His accident with Marcel definitely set him off. I began to worry that I might have done something to anger him even more, especially with his sarcastic and annoyed tone when he shooed me off. Soon after, Marcel had complained to me about his mood. Several times had I wanted to tell her not to talk so lowly of him. After all, he must have been stressed about our situation. However, Marcel just _wouldn't stop talking._ She was like a lit firecracker that took forever to explode. I guess having such a social person with us wasn't so bad, but she really needed to control herself. If she started talking like that at the wrong time, she might get yelled at. That's the problem with talkative people. Sometimes they embarrassed themselves without meaning to, and if they tried to explain themselves, they would make it worse.

I mean, I guessed that was a generalization. Not all social people were like that. _Oh no! I'm sorry if I offended anyone!... Er, no one can even hear me… Ah- I'm not talking out loud, am I? Oh good, I'm not. Phew!_ I remembered a time when I started speaking what I was thinking about out loud, and it really embarrassed me. Then my brother-... what was his name again? _Huh? Did I forget my brother's name? U-Uh, wait, I don't even remember what he looks like! IS he my brother? Oh no, maybe I'm thinking of someone else's brother! Wait, whose brother?! Do I even know anyone that has a brother?! DID THIS EMBARRASSING THING EVEN HAPPEN?!_

"W-what is this?!" I squeaked quietly. I slapped my hands on my mouth and blushed. I looked up, weary that Marcel might have heard me. But...

At some point, she had wandered off. I looked around and saw her skipping off to where Taz was, still blabbering on. My mind tried processing what had happened. I finally snapped back to reality when the girl that Taz introduced earlier emerged from the cabin next to the cabin where Taz and some others were gathered. A girl wearing a maroon colored winter hat over her eyes walked out behind her with her arms completely wrapped around the smaller girl's upper body in a hug. They walked down the steps onto the ground, though somewhat slowly.

Following behind them was a guy with a surprisingly fancy outfit, as if it was a costume from some royal medieval library. He wore a bright white button-up coat that hung down his legs, covering some plain, dark brown pants. He had a belt around his waist and over his shoulder, which had some empty loops hanging down from it in seemingly random spots. He had fair blond hair and blue eyes, and he was well groomed. He didn't seem very happy. He looked around warily.

"What is this place?" he asked, more to himself than us. I jogged over to them.

"H-Hello! Um, we're still gathering everyone, so maybe we'll be able to figure out where we are after we're all here," I said.

"Eh? Really?" the girl with the winter hat said. She sniffed very loudly. "Huh. Are we at a camp?"

"Yes, that's what we're thinking."

"Wow, that's strange. I don't remember travelling to a campsite. You don't sound familiar, either," she said, pointing at me. "It's like I'm totally okay with you guys, but I don't even know you. I'm not usually that okay with strangers… I think. Isn't that strange?"

"Oh, you feel that way, too? I-I have a feeling that some really insane coincidence happened. Taz and Grei don't seem to remember anything, either."

"Who?" the boy asked.

"Oh yeah, you don't know them… Sorry!"

"Don't sweat with apologies, ma'am. And who's that obnoxious lady?" winter hat girl asked, pointing at Marcel, who was charging towards the other row of cabins and chattering some incomprehensible but cheerful monologue. She slammed the door open and charged inside. We all waited silently, staring at the dark building for a few short seconds before she emerged with each arm around the necks of a dark-skinned girl and a very large man. Marcel yelled some cheer while the two she was holding captive looked completely disoriented. After pushing them down the stairs and towards our cabin with no realization of the two's confusion, she jumped from the porch of that cabin onto the porch of the cabin next to it… or, well, _tried_ to. She tripped on the railing she had climbed onto, resulting in her falling to the dirty, damp ground. I looked to the others, and they didn't seem too interested in helping her.

After that little spectacle, Taz, who seemed even angrier than earlier, walked past us and sat down next to Grei. I looked over at the cabin he had come from and spotted another boy and girl slowly making their way towards us. Like the girl in the winter hat, a messy boy was clinging onto the new girl's right leg. I pitied the girl as she struggled to drag the boy with her.

"Hello. I'm guessing you are the people we're meeting up with to discuss this… strange occurrence," the girl asked us. The boy wearing the costume walked up to her and bowed.

"That is precisely correct, princess." She looked taken aback by his answer.

"Princess? I think that's going a little too far. I'm not a princess. My name is just Anabel."

"Oh, really? Even if you aren't a princess, you still look beautiful, ma'am." She grinned awkwardly and waved her hand in dismissal.

"Thank you, then. I-I'm not quite sure how to respond to this… What is your name?" she asked. The boy looked up at her while still bowing, showing obvious shock on his face. He grew flustered.

"My name? U-Uh…" He stood up straight and wrapped his arms around himself uncomfortably. "Well, that's strange. I believe I have forgotten… I hope this doesn't make you think less of me at all."

"Oh, no, no! Not at all!" she said, shaking her head and waving both of her arms. "I've forgotten a few things myself... "

"Eh, really?" the winter hat girl asked. "It's as if everyone's forgotten everything."

"I see… Axel here," Anabel replied, pointing her hand towards the boy on her leg, "also has forgotten how he got here. If we're going to gather and talk about this, I think it's best if I know everyone else's name. Mind introducing yourselves?" Winter hat girl removed her grip on the smaller girl and stood up straight with a salute.

"Yes, ma'am! My name's Kana Komodori, at your service, ma'am! I am used to being called by my last name Komodori, but feel free to call me by my first name as well, ma'am!" Kana shouted with as much gusto as she could.

"Very nice to meet you, Miss Komodori. Haha… I think I'll just call you Kana. It sounds more normal to call you by first name." At this, Kana took an "at ease" pose and smiled.

"Very well, ma'am! Pleasure meeting your acquaintance!" Anabel laughed.

"What about you?" she asked the smaller Asian girl.

"... Um, I…" Kana wrapped an arm around her neck.

"It's okay, pal! Go on and tell us your name!" Kana told her.

"... Well, it's not like I don't want to. It's just…"

"Well, if you've forgotten your own name too, just say it! We're all forgetting stuff, so it's okay! No-Name here hasn't got a name he remembers, either!" she said, patting the said boy on the back.

"Ah… Well, okay. I guess I've… forgotten my name, too…" the hoodie girl finally said, flustered.

"See? Wasn't so bad! Now we just need _your_ name!" Kana said. I was startled when she threw her whole arm out to point at me.

"Y-Yes! My name is Shannon. Shannon Fields."

"Nice to meet you, Shannon," Anabel said, walking up to me with a hand extended. I shook it timidly, suddenly feeling a little nervous in her presence.

"Hey," the boy still clinging onto Anabel said, looking at me. We all looked at him. "Why are you wearing that stupid looking bunny outfit? Isn't that for kids, or somethin'?" I jumped and blushed in embarrassment, suddenly feeling completely aware that I was wearing such girly pajamas. I looked down at my clothes and saw a little pink cartoon bunny eating a carrot. Next to it was another bunny munching on grass.

"O-Oh, I-I u-uh, didn't r-rememb-" Just then, Kana laughed out loud. I blushed even harder.

"Well, don't worry about that! They're just clothes! I'm just wearing a tank and shorts right now, so I don't see a problem! Hahaha!"

"Hm," the smaller girl grunted. She was looking away and didn't seem to interested in my outfit, either. The boy who forgot his name looked too enraptured with Anabel to care. I sighed.

"If that's how you see it, then okay," I replied. Kana gave me a thumbs up.

"Oh, and what about you two?" Anabel spoke up, walking past us towards Grei and Taz with Axel. "I never got your name earlier."

"Oh, heck no! Not him!" Axel whined.

"Oh, shut up, kid," Taz replied.

"I ain't a kid. I'm a high schooler. A sophomore, in fact!"

"Huh? You are?" the boy with no name asked, shocked. I felt shocked about this revelation, as well.

"Psh. Liar." Taz seemed completely different from when I had met him. He'd gone from a sweet man to a sourpuss. _U-Uh, I mean, not that he IS a sourpuss! Well, I did mean that, but not in a bad way! W-Wait, sourpuss isn't a bad word, is it? N-No, I don't think it is… H-Ha ha! Silly me. There's no way that's a bad word. It's just the first word that came to mind, is all! Silly brain!_

"It's okay!" I blurted. Everyone fell silent and looked at me. I grew flustered again. "E-Eh-U-Uh, sorry! I was just… Nevermind…" My long hair fell in front of my face.

"See? Even the tall lady believes me."

"I said shut up." I fiddled with a strand of my hair.

"Okay, I've had enough of you two," Anabel said sternly, surprising us. "Axel, stop clinging onto me. You're making my leg sore." Axel frowned and let her go, laying his arms and face lazily in the dirt.

"Fine. Leave me here in the cold, wet dirt. Let me die of hypothermia and parasites. Watch me decompose into dust and bones while I become a patch of mold and mushrooms." Anabel sighed. She shook her head.

"Anyway, I want to know your names."

"O-Oh y-yeah! We were just a-about to t-talk about that, weren't we?" Grei spoke.

"Taz," Taz responded, pointing at himself. "Grei." He pointed at the guy sitting next to him.

"H-Hi."

"'Sup, Grei! Yo, Taz!" Kana exclaimed.

"What's going on here? Why am I in a gross camp with a bunch of strangers, wearing an ugly as mug pajamas?" A new voice spoke up. "And what the fudge was I doing sleeping in the same cabin as a random dude I don't know?!" We looked over to the source and saw the girl that Marcel had pulled out of the cabin pointing at the large man with her left hand on her hip. "I ain't about to do camp!"

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 _Author's Note: I was running out of unique-ish personalities for my characters. One of them is now based highly off of my own friend. Cheers to you! You don't even watch anime or read fanfiction, so you won't read this and comment about it. I have nothing to worry about… Haha._

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CURRENT PROFILES:

Males:

 **Taz Dundas (?)** , Ultimate ? - _Status: Alive  
_ **Axel ? (?)** , Ultimate ? - _Status: Alive  
_ **Grei ? (?)** , Ultimate ? - _Status: Alive  
_ **Unknown (?)** , Ultimate ? - _Status: Alive  
_ **Unknown (?)** , Ultimate ? - _Status: Alive  
_ **Unknown (?)** , Ultimate ? - _Status: Alive  
_ **Unknown (?)** , Ultimate ? - _Status: Alive_ _  
_

Females:

 **Kana Komodori (?)** , Ultimate ? - _Status: Alive  
_ **Shannon Fields (?)** , Ultimate ? - _Status: Alive  
_ **Anabel ? (?)** , Ultimate ? - _Status: Alive  
_ **Marcel ? (?)** , Ultimate ? - _Status: Alive  
_ **Unknown (?)** , Ultimate ? - _Status: Alive  
_ **Unknown (?)** , Ultimate ? - _Status: Alive  
_ **Unknown (?)** , Ultimate ? - _Status: Alive_ _  
_

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 **CHA** **PTER 2 PICTURES**

 _Please check the links labeled with the names below under the To Be Despairing: Lights of Hope section at the **bottom of my profile** to view pictures of this chapter. Available pictures are labeled "AVAILABLE!"_

Chapter 2 Map (Current known locations) _AVAILABLE!_  
Chapter Scene - Nice Try (Marcel tries to jump the rail)  
Character 1 Pre-Game (Anabel)  
Character 2 Pre-Game (Axel)  
Character 3 Pre-Game (Kana)  
Character 4 Nameless, Pre-Game (Unknown Male 2)  
Character 5 Nameless, Pre-Game (Unknown Male 3)  
Character 6 Nameless, Pre-Game (Unknown Female 2)  
Character 7 Nameless, Pre-Game (Unknown Male 4)  
Character 8 Nameless, Pre-Game (Unknown Female 3)  
Character Statuses (All currently known character statuses)

(A/N: Once again, I apologize for how inconvenient the system is. I hope you like the pictures, though!)

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 _Chapter Uploaded 3/20/17_


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